THIS WEEKEND Paramount
replaced itself at the top of the North American box office chart as its
new teen thriller Disturbia opened
ahead of expectations in first place bumping the studio's two-week champ
Blades of Glory into the runnerup spot.
The weekend's other new suspense thriller Perfect
Stranger starring Halle Berry and Bruce Willis disappointed
and landed in fourth place. Four other new films debuted in wide release
but generated little interest from moviegoers. Overall, the marketplace
suffered the usual late spring slowdown as for the first time since February,
the top ten failed to sell $100M worth of tickets.

Rising star Shia LaBeouf scored a big victory over the weekend with
the thriller Disturbia which shot straight
to number one debuting with $22.2M, according to final
studio figures. The PG-13 pic was given the widest release of the frame's
six new entries playing in 2,925 theaters and generated a strong $7,598
average. A modern day version of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear
Window, Disturbia played
to a young female audience as studio research showed that 57% of the crowd
was female and 75% was under 35.

Just before the film's opening day, the studio announced that LaBeouf
had been cast opposite Harrison Ford in its next Indiana
Jones film. The news may have helped to generate more excitement
for Disturbia which was the only major
choice for teenage girls this weekend. The safe rating and fairly good
reviews may also have contributed. The $20M production looks to become
a profitable vehicle.

After its two-week run at the top, Will Ferrell's comedy hit Blades
of Glory slipped to second place dropping a moderate 39% to
$13.8M. The 17-day cume stands at a potent $90M. Like Disturbia,
Blades was produced by DreamWorks and
distributed by its new parent Paramount.

Slipping only 25% was Disney's animated comedy Meet
the Robinsons with $12.5M which lifted the total to $72.4M.
With no new films for young kids this weekend, Robinsons
enjoyed the smallest decline in the top ten.

Halle Berry and Bruce Willis failed to turn their starpower into box
office bucks as their new suspense thriller Perfect
Stranger debuted weaker than expected in fourth place with $11.2M.
The critically-panned Sony release averaged a mediocre $4,211 from 2,661
theaters. With its R rating, Perfect Stranger
played to an adult audience with a female skew. Studio research
showed that women made up 54% of the audience and a very high 70% were
25 or older. The opening was weaker than the bows of other films headlined
by Berry like Catwoman ($16.7M) and
Gothika ($19.3M).

Ice Cube had a decent second weekend for his comedy sequel Are
We Done Yet? which fell by 37% to $9M. That gave the Sony release
a cume of $32.8M after 12 days. Its predecessor enjoyed a much slimmer
12% dip to $16.3M in its second weekend on its way to $82.3M. Done
might find its way to the vicinity of $55M. Fox's Viking actioner
Pathfinder limped into sixth place
with a weak $5M opening. The R-rated film averaged a mild $2,908 from 1,720
locations.

The rest of the top ten was filled with four films separated by less
than $350,000. Buena Vista's motorcycle comedy Wild
Hogs grossed $4.7M, down only 30%, for a stellar cume of $152.3M.
Hilary Swank's horror flick The Reaping
tumbled 54% in its second weekend to $4.6M giving Warner Bros. $19.8M in
11 days.

The mighty 300 broke through the
double century mark over the weekend both domestically and internationally.
In North America, the Warner Bros. smash dropped 47% to $4.5M boosting
the total to $201M. Overseas, 300 collected
an estimated $13.8M this weekend to lift the international haul to $203.5M
giving the Spartan epic a global tally of $405M and counting. The stylish
war film is now the highest grossing March release ever having surpassed
the old record holder Ice Age: The Meltdown
which grossed $195.3M last spring.

Rounding out the top ten was the Quentin Tarantino-Robert Rodriguez
flop Grindhouse which plunged 63% in
its sophomore session to $4.3M. Budgeted at $53M, the double feature has
taken in just $19.8M in its first ten days and looks headed for a weak
$25-27M finish for The Weinstein Co.

In addition to the three new wide releases that debuted in the top ten,
another three opened outside of it with weaker results. The car racing
pic Redline bowed to $4M from 1,607
sites for a slow $2,466 average per theater. The first title from rookie
distributor Chicago Pictures stars Eddie Griffin and targeted young males.

First Look opened the animated film Aqua Teen
Hunger Force to the tune of $3M giving the R-rated film an average
of just $3,427 from 877 locations. Lionsgate made no impact with its Ray
Liotta actioner Slow Burn which bowed
to $778,123 from 1,163 playdates for a puny average of $669 per theater.

Three films fell out of the top ten this weekend. Mark Wahlberg's sniper
pic Shooter dropped 47% to $3.1M putting
its total at $42.1M. The $60M Paramount release should end its run with
$47-49M. Fox's family film Firehouse Dog
held up well in its second weekend, despite collecting low overall grosses.
The PG-rated drama dipped 21% to $3.1M for a cume of $10.2M after 12 days.
Warner Bros. took in $2.3M for the animated actioner TMNT,
off 53%, for a total of $50.8M. Look for a $53-55M final.

Platforming to solid results was the Molly Shannon drama Year
of the Dog which bowed in seven New York and Los Angeles sites
and grossed $108,223. The Paramount Vantage release averaged $15,460 and
will open in nine additional cities this Friday boosting its theater count
to more than 30.

The top ten films grossed $91.7M which was down 14% from last year when
Scary Movie 4 opened at number one
with $40.2M; but up 28% from 2005 when The Amityville
Horror debuted on top with $23.5M.

Compared to projections, Disturbia
powered well ahead of my $10M forecast while Perfect
Stranger opened a couple of notches below my $15M prediction.
Pathfinder was on target with my $5M
projection and Redline debuted below
my $7M forecast. Aqua Teen Hunger Force
came close to my $4M prediction while Slow Burn
was much weaker than my $4M projection.

For a review of The Reaping and
DVD reviews of Happy Feet
and Black Christmas, visit The
Chief Report.

Be sure to check back on Thursday for a complete summary, including
projections, for next weekend when Vacancy,
Hot Fuzz, Fracture,
and In the Land of Women all open.

This column is updated three times each week:
Thursday
(upcoming weekend's summary), Sunday
(post-weekend analysis with estimates), and Monday
night (actuals). Opinions expressed in this column are those solely of
the author.